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The Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia
Tour Code: AUS10A 16-day holiday exploring three of the most impressive bioregions of Australia, one of the most herpetologically diverse countries on Earth.
£13,995 (Inc flights)
£12,995
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
With more than 1,100 species of reptiles and around 250 species of frogs, Australia is hailed as one of the most herpetologically diverse countries on Earth. The island continent boasts habitats ranging from dense tropical rainforests and vast tropical savannahs to sandy and stony deserts, tall temperate forests, complex heaths and alpine herbfields. Each region supports its own distinctive associations of reptile and amphibian species. This tour has been specially curated to explore some of the most impressive of these bioregions: rainforests of north-east Queensland’s Wet Tropics; tropical savannahs, wetlands and escarpments in the Top End of the Northern Territory; sand dunes and outcrops in Alice Springs.
Our journey begins with a four night visit to the Wet Tropics focusing mainly on the Atherton Tablelands, an upland region above the city of Cairns. It features Australia’s finest tropical rainforest, Queensland’s tallest mountains, volcanic lakes, countless watercourses, and includes a mix of dry tropical forest and woodland.
We then fly to Darwin, the tropical northern city where daily maximum temperatures seldom fall below 30 degrees Celsius. Using Darwin as a base for three nights we can visit the old WWII base of Snake Creek near the town of Adelaide River, where nature is re-claiming the sheet-iron buildings and concrete bunkers, Howard Springs where Mertens’ Water Monitors pay little heed to the human visitors, Fogg Dam with its abundant pythons in a complex wetland ecology and Litchfield National Park featuring fabulous rock formations. We will then move on for three nights to Kakadu National Park, a land of spectacular sandstone escarpments, timeless galleries of rock art, wetlands and tropical savannahs.
Flying south to central Australia we will base ourselves for three nights in the regional capital, Alice Springs, nestled at the base of the MacDonnell Ranges. We will travel to the West MacDonnell Ranges which harbour hidden treasures such as deep red gorges sheltering permanent water.
An optional extension to Yulara, gateway to the iconic Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), offers a further experience and range of fantastic species.
- Led by renowned Australian herpetologist and field guide author Steve Wilson
- Search for Amethyst Python, Australia’s largest snake
- Many other snakes possible including Northern Death Adder, Night Tiger Tree Snake and Arafura File Snake
- Northern Leaf-tailed Gecko, Chameleon Gecko, Boyd’s Forest Dragon, Kimberley Rock Monitor and a wealth of other lizards
- See the aggregation of Saltwater Crocodiles at the famous Cahill’s Crossing at Kakadu
- Such incredible mammals as Platypus and Tree Kangaroo
- Beautiful butterflies including Ulysses and Cairns Birdwing
Outline Itinerary
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Steve Wilson
Steve Wilson is a Brisbane-based naturalist, herpetologist and wildlife photographer. Steve has authored and co-authored twelve reptile books, which have received four Whitely Awards for excellence in natural history. This includes co-authoring the definitive A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia now in its sixth revised edition.
In 2000 Steve was named Photographer of the Year by Australian Geographic Magazine for his article on Australian geckos. In 2022 he was awarded the prestigious Order of Australia Medal for his work with herpetology and communication.
His work with herpetology and photography has taken him to some of the world’s biodiversity hot-spots. He has also travelled extensively around Australia photographing reptiles for his comprehensive field guides.
For more than 30 years he has worked at the Queensland Museum, educating the public, identifying their specimens and raising awareness about Australia’s unique biological heritage and how to conserve it.
2026
Tour Leader: Steve Wilson
Steve Wilson is a Brisbane-based naturalist, herpetologist and wildlife photographer. Steve has authored and co-authored twelve reptile books, which have received four Whitely Awards for excellence in natural history. This includes co-authoring the definitive A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia now in its sixth revised edition.
In 2000 Steve was named Photographer of the Year by Australian Geographic Magazine for his article on Australian geckos. In 2022 he was awarded the prestigious Order of Australia Medal for his work with herpetology and communication.
His work with herpetology and photography has taken him to some of the world’s biodiversity hot-spots. He has also travelled extensively around Australia photographing reptiles for his comprehensive field guides.
For more than 30 years he has worked at the Queensland Museum, educating the public, identifying their specimens and raising awareness about Australia’s unique biological heritage and how to conserve it.
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With in-house herpetology expertise connecting with passionate, expert, field herpetologists – and drawing on knowledge built up from operating bird, mammal, botany, butterfly and other wildlife tours since 1986 – we have crafted a selection of the world’s finest reptile and amphibian holidays in our herping tour portfolio.
Destinations for our herpetology holidays include: Albania, Borneo, Britain, Colombia, Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Morocco, Namibia, Panama, South Africa, Sri Lanka.
Naturetrek Reptile and Amphibian Tours
- Naturetrek have been crafting expertly-guided group tours to all seven continents for more than 36 years.
- All of our herping tours are led by an expert herpetologist guide.
- Our herpetology tours provide fantastic opportunity to find, study and photograph reptiles and amphibians.
- As with all of our tours, our reptile and amphibian tours use well-located and well-appointed accommodation.
- In addition to arranging group flights, we are delighted to help with arrangements to join our holidays from any location worldwide.
If you are interested in taking a herping holiday to a destination which is not listed in our current portfolio, please do get in touch using the quick enquiry form and we'll be very pleased to discuss options with you.
Our specialist recommends...
“Our ‘Reptiles & Amphibians of Ecuador' 17-day holiday through the spectacularly diverse habitats of Ecuador, which features an exciting exploration of the Naturetrek Reserve! On this tour we'll search for such exquisite jewels as Pinocchio Lizard, Two-striped Forest-pitviper, Mata-mata Turtle, Diablito Poison Frog, Upper Amazon Glass Frog, Linda's Treefrog and many other simply wonderful species.”
Dan Lay – Operations Manager and tour leader[params] => stdClass Object ( [category_layout] => [image_az] => https://i.assetzen.net/i/grQy1nYcgjdh/w:2000/h:937/q:70.jpg [image_alt] => ) [metakey] => Reptiles & Amphibians Herpetology Tours Herping Tours [note] => 12 [parent] => stdClass Object ( [id] => 165 [parent_id] => 1 [level] => 1 [path] => tour-focus [title] => Tour Focus [alias] => tour-focus [description] => [params] => stdClass Object ( [category_layout] => [image_az] => [image_alt] => ) [metakey] => [note] => ) ) )
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
Enquire
Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
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